End of an era: Sudarsan Pattnaik pays homage to Pele with sand art

New Delhi: Renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has paid tribute to Brazilian football legend Pele through his art. Pele, the legendary Brazilian football player who rose from barefoot poverty to become one of the greatest and best-known modern athletes, died at 82. He was a three-time World cup winner.

Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture of the legendary football player to pay tribute to him along with the message "End of an Era, RIP Pele," at Puri beach on Friday.

Tribute to legendary footballer #Pele. My sand art at Puri beach in India with message "End of an Era ". #RIPPele pic.twitter.com/rm2uuvCC0E — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) December 30, 2022

Pattnaik created a 5 feet high sand art of Pele along with a football and used about 4 tons of sand to perfect it. Students of his sand art school joined hands with him to complete it.

Pele passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 after battling bowel cancer. A few days back, the football legend's health deteriorated, and doctors said he needed care for renal and cardiac dysfunction. He was also undergoing treatment for a respiratory infection that was aggravated by COVID-19.

Pele, whose real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was considered one of the greatest to ever step onto a football pitch. He was the only player to have won three World Cup titles, having won the top prize in football in 1958, 1962 and 1970. The footballer also boasted numerous trophies at the club and country levels.

At the FIFA World Cup, Pele scored 12 goals in 14 matches across four editions, the second most by any Brazilian after Ronaldo. Pele was widely regarded as the game's most gifted player. With 77 goals in 92 games, he continues to be the top goal scorer for Brazil.

Pele was the most successful top-division scorer in the sport with 541 goals in 560 games. He totalled 1,283 goals in 1,363 games including friendlies.